How Much Does a SATA Hard Drive Cost?

A SATA hard drive is a type of storage device mainly used for desktop or laptop computers. The hard drive is mainly the storage device while Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, or SATA, is the cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard of the computer. Older models of motherboards and hard drives are connected by the PATA cable. The SATA has several advantages over the former allowing it to become the standard for hard drive cables today. The price for a SATA hard drive depends on the storage capacity of the hard drive, as the bigger the storage space the hard drive has the higher the price of it would be.

How much is it?

On average, a SATA hard drive can cost anywhere from $35 to $170. Usually, the brand and storage capacity is going to greatly reflect the price tag.

A 500GB SATA hard drive is going to cost $35 to $60, while a 2TB hard drive can cost $100 or more.

A store such as BestBuy.com offers hard drives with different storage capacities as well as different brands. They sell internal SATA hard drives for anywhere from $50 to $120 depending on the storage capacity of the device.

What are the extra costs?

Once you purchase a hard drive, it can be installed in the computer right away. There are no other items needed to use the hard drive since you will just have to configure the settings before actually using it.

Optional accessories that may be required are cables or an enclosure if the hard drive does not come with one. This is the case if you usually purchase a hard drive second hand. Newer ones come with all the accessories necessary.

If you do not feel comfortable installing the hard drive yourself, you may hire a professional to do it for you. This will be an extra cost, usually between $30-$100.

What is going to be included?

The SATA hard drive will include both the SATA cable as well as the hard drive. It will come in a box and the manufacturer would also provide a warranty for the product that can last up to a lifetime.

The hard drive should come with basic installation instructions. If not, these can be found using a simple search on the internet.

How can I save money?

Check how much storage capacity that you need depending on the amount of data that you save. If you save plenty of data, then you need to buy a bigger capacity hard drive as it can be cheaper than the lower storage capacity hard drives based on the amount of data it can save.

If you are unsure of how to install the hard drive, ask your friends and family. It is likely that you know at least one person that is capable of doing it free of charge!